Casters for furniture

[monty0703]

Can you get castors to put on the feet of fridges, washing machines etc. to make them easy to move? I thought I saw ones somewhere that 'locked' so the washine machine wouldn't move around when spinning.

[bookbinder]

Some years ago, in about 1988, I bought a pair of the castors that you mention. I still have them. I don't know if they are still available or not, but I'll give you all the information that's on the box. They are called "Easy Rider Rollers", they cost �7.50, they are a Braby Bristol product, they are made in England, patent no. is 1350507. I put them under a washing machine when I was tiling our kitchen walls, because I had to keep moving the washer away from the wall to do the tiling. They were very useful. They have a brake so that they won't move about when the washer is running. I have looked in an Argos catalogue, but there's no sign of them there. I bought mine from a hardware shop, the sort of place that sells everything. I've just Googled Braby Bristol. Here's what I found: Braby Group Ltd., Ashton Gate Works, Bristol, BS3 2LQ. Telephone: [phone]. That's all that I can tell you. I hope that you find what you want.

[Robinia]

Oddly I was just on the Argos site so I had a look & found ....these

I wouldn't dare put my washer on them though, it would just jump off & carry on doing one of it's many latin dance routines across the kitchen :o)
Oh & you need to have enough space if there's a worktop above.

[monty0703]

Thanks Bookbinder. Why oh why are they not available? I thought they would have been useful for a lot of people. Robinia, i had a look at the Argos ones. I thought they might be ok as they can stretch to the width of the washing machine and can lock... any thoughts to the contrary?

[Robinia]

Only the reason I gave monty, in that my washer does like to dance about sometimes. I'd be worried it would tip off at one side & if it wasn't level I assume it would stop working or be dangerous. And there has to space for it to be raised by a few inches. I know how you feel though, I can't move my washer at all (until someone big & strong comes along) & anything I drop or spill magically seems to disappear underneath it!

(I imagine bookbinder was talking about the same thing).

[monty0703]

I guess you're right. I don't want to waste cash on buying them to find out. Looks like I'll need to really stuggle with trying to push the machine back in the space - it now sits on top os non-slip lino and it took 3 big blokes to put it in, but I have to take it out again to fix a pipe at the back. Argh!!!!

[craft1948]

come on monty.....I'm an arthritic pensioner and I can manage to move my washer/dryer to clean behind it......flex your muscles.....

[Robinia]

oooh, be careful, we don't want to see you in Body & Soul with a bad back! Good luck!

[monty0703]

There's no way I can move it, it's as if it's stuck to the floor! Looks like I'll have to bribe some burly blokes..

[carrust]

You could try putting 2 laminate floor planks under the feet. I also put a solution of water & washing up liquid of the surface before placing under the machine.

[monty0703]

Thanks for the tip Carrust. Will need to try something!

[Robinia]

Is it vinyl flooring, heavy things just sink in & take root. I remember now, when I had to move the freezer (I think it was) that seemed stuck so I quirted round the feet with wd40 & left it for a few mins...not sure if it was the right thing to do but it worked!

[bookbinder]

Monty, I've just had a look at the castors that Robinia mentioned, on the Argos website. They appear to be identical to the ones that I bought, and they do seem to have a brake lever thing at one end. Whether or not your washer would jump off them depends on your machine, but otherwise I don't think that you'll find anything better. Best of luck.